Courage in Dark Places
by Ruth Joyce
Summary: The Companions return in another adventure, ten years after "Stone-Age Companions." When Merida sacrifices herself for her friends, the others are haunted by the question "What happens to Guardians after they die?" Some Guardians have been known to return from a supposed death, but nobody remembers what happened or how they came back. The Companions set out to solve the mystery.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: You know how much I love my Companions. They were my first fandom, and my first stories, after all. After a small vacation, they have returned for one last great adventure. The chapters are fairly short, and there are only five of them (so far), so it is a short story, but it's got a lot of great moments. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Rise of the Guardian, Brave, Tangled, Frozen, or HTTYD. The only character I own is Lillith.**

* * *

A warm, soft breeze blew into Rapunzel's face, her barefoot feet ran lightly and swiftly over the soft green grass of spring, still covered in the morning dew. As usual, her heart was racing from the excitement and adrenaline, but instead of being afraid, she simply laughed.

"Careful, lass," Merida said, running beside her with her bow drawn. She turned and fired silver arrows into the pack of monkeys chasing them. "We want them ta think they're winning, instead of us drawing them into a trap."

Rapunzel grinned and looked up at the skies, where Jack and Hiccup on Toothless flew almost casually. She couldn't help it, she loved having adventures with her best friends. And she knew that Merida, after centuries alone with just her cousin and a dragon for company, thoroughly enjoyed it.

On this mission, as North called it, they were hunting down the last of the Monkey King's villainous monkeys, who had been terrorizing the local populations from Corona to Arendelle. The Monkey King himself had been defeated by Bunnymund earlier that week, but before he had died ordered his minions to wreak as much havoc and chaos as possible. In just three days, the Companions alone had reduced their numbers from the sixty to which they were assigned to only a dozen or so. Unlike the other Guardians, the Companions worked together so well that it seemed they were one being in four bodies (five counting Toothless). And as a result, they were the most feared of all the Monkey King's enemies.

"Canyon, dead ahead!" Hiccup called.

Last night, he and Toothless had created a deep, rocky chasm as a trap for the last monkeys. It was only twenty or thirty feet wide, just long enough for a rotting tree trunk to form a bridge, and forty feet deep. If the fall didn't kill you, the sharp rocks certainly would. At first, Rapunzel had been concerned about the hazard it would cause for the nearby village, but Bunny promised he would come and fill it in once they had finished with it.

As Jack and Hiccup flew over the chasm, Merida leapt up and caught Toothless' legs and swung over with a whoop. Rapunzel ran over the trunk with nimble steps, just enough to weaken the structure.

She was halfway across when her thick braid caught on one of the branches. At first, she was merely annoyed. But as she turned to free it, she realized how much ground the monkeys had gained. As hard as she tugged on her braid, it would not move.

"Jack!" she called, fear rising in her voice. "Jack, I'm stuck!"

"Merida, hold them off," Jack commanded, flying down to his wife.

Merida ran back across the log and vaulted over both of them, landing on the end with a thump that shook the entire tree. Hiccup held his breath nervously. They had selected this tree because of it's weak structure. It could only hold two people at once; they were hoping the monkeys would rush on at the same time and break it. Luckily, Merida regained her balance and began firing into the oncoming army.

"Hurry, Jack!" Merida called.

She fired two arrows at once, and both hit targets. The other monkeys stopped, hesitant. Merida DunBroch, Guardian of Courage and owner of the magic silver bow, never missed. But Jack knew they wouldn't wait for long. He froze the branch and snapped if off, still stuck in Rapunzel's hair. The snap seemed to shake the monkeys out of their daze and they howled with rage, once again charging forward. Jack lifted Rapunzel into the air and landed beside Hiccup and Toothless, waiting in the tree.

 _Toothless, prepare to fire_ , Hiccup said telepathically to Toothless.

 _Where do I hit it again?_

 _Right in the middle, but wait until Merida is off and the monkeys are on._

Toothless opened his mouth and began to build blue fire deep within his throat. Merida stepped backwards slowly, still shooting. Now there were only five monkeys left, but they were big, and heavily built. If just one of them jumped onto the log, it would break. The leader of the pack stepped forward, cautiously. Merida's thoughts raced.

 _If they're cautious, the trap won't work. They need to be confident, all rush on at once._

If the trap didn't work, there would be no time for the Companions to run again. They would have to fight in close combat, and as they had discovered, that did not work well.

 _Blast the leader_ , Hiccup said suddenly, sensing Merida's hesitation and taking in the situation.

Immediately, Toothless fired, and the leader dropped dead, nothing but a pile of ash. Unfortunately, he had used up all his fire power, and Merida knew it. As the other monkeys screeched and howled, she turned and threw her bow and quiver onto the ground below the tree.

"What are you doing?" Rapunzel yelled as the monkeys charged.

"Saving your lives," Merida said calmly.

"Run!"

But there was no time. She stood in the middle of the tree, her back to the monkeys. As soon as they had leaped onto the log, it snapped in two. Monkeys and Scottish princess fell together into the canyon.

Rapunzel and Hiccup screamed, Toothless roared, and Jack watched numbly, unable to process it. How could this be happening?

Unbraiding her hair as she went, Rapunzel jumped out of the tree and ran to the edge. She threw her hair, wrapping it around a sharp outcrop of rocks, and swung to the canyon floor. Jack and Hiccup flew after her.

"Merida!" Hiccup called, frantically.

The scattered bodies of the monkeys lay pierced and impaled by the rocks, their blood running thick. All four were dead, that could be clearly seen. But Merida was nowhere to be found. All that was left was her sword, which had somehow fallen off. A scrap of fabric from her cloak had been snagged on the point.

Rapunzel knelt beside it, crying. In desperation she began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine…"

"Rapunzel," Jack said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It won't work when there's nothing there. She's gone."

"But…where?" Hiccup asked, confused. "The monkeys are here, so why isn't she?"

Jack didn't have an answer.

* * *

"Ah! Good, you have returned," North said cheerily. "What is your report?"

"The monkeys are all dead," Jack said wearily. "So Bunny can go fill up the canyon now. We lost Merida."

There was a moment of silence. North was shocked. "Merida? Out of all of you? How?"

"She sacrificed herself," Rapunzel said quietly. "It was my fault."

"No it wasn't," Jack said firmly.

"It doesn't matter," Hiccup said at the same time. "She's gone. North, she _really_ _is_ gone. There wasn't even a body."

"There never is a body when Guardians die," North said. "It's all very mysterious. Sometimes we don't even know a Guardian dies. No body, just a disappearance. Sometimes we think they are dead they have been gone so long, but then they return unable to remember what happened."

"They returned from the dead?"

"We don't know for certain," North said cautiously. "But I know of at least three spirits who have been _seen_ to die, and then they return some days later."

"Who?" Rapunzel, Jack, and Hiccup asked eagerly.

"Sandy and Bunny are two," North said. "And then there is a water spirit…though I can't quite remember her name. But it's no use asking them. They don't remember a thing."

"Could Merida return?" Hiccup asked.

North didn't answer for a long time. Finally, he nodded. "It is a possibility."

"Great!" Rapunzel yelled. "Then let's go and find her. Can you help us, North?"

"I wish I could, but I am swamped with work."

"You just had Christmas," Jack said.

"Yes, but now I have to go through reports. What child liked what, what tastes have changed. It's a lot to go through. And don't bother Bunny, Easter is coming up. And as for Tooth…you know how hard it is for her. All those teeth. But if you want my advice, you can try looking in my library for some documents."

* * *

"Would this help?"

Fourteen-year-old Lilith put a heavy volume entitled "Mysteries and Legends of the Underworld" on the table in front of Hiccup.

"Maybe," he said wearily.

It had been three weeks since Merida's death, and they had searched the libraries of North, Tooth, and Sandy (Bunny didn't own any books, and though they asked, he didn't remember anything), traveled to Arendelle, DunBroch, the Southern Isles, and had ended up in Corona. They weren't any closer to finding where Merida was, and she hadn't turned up on her own, which was not a good sign. Now, Jack hung upside in the rafters of Corona's library. He was really bored.

"Jack," Mavis said, annoyed. "Can't you come down and do something useful?"

"No. I can't even keep track of what we've learned. I need one of MK's charts."

"Ok, go ask North for a snowglobe," Anna said, irritated as she always was when MK was mentioned. "But I doubt you'll be able to drag her away from fairyland or wherever."

Five years earlier, Mary Katherine had abdicated Corona's throne and traveled to the future to be with her true love.* Not only did Anna lose one of her best friends, this had left her and Kristoff the monarchs of "The City of Beauty."

"Everyone calm down," Elsa said, sensing the tension. "I know everyone's edgy, but it's really not that bad. Hiccup, you look like you have something to say."

"Thanks, Elsa. I do, actually. So far, we've learned that there have been 27 incidents of supposedly dead spirits returning to life. Two have been seen to die and to return. None of the 27 spirits remember what happened, if they really died, or how they were brought back. They either remember darkness or light. Or both."

"This is interesting," Lilith interrupted. She hadn't been paying the least bit of attention, she was so captivated by the dusty book. "It says here that the definition of a spirit is 'an immortal being with magical powers who cannot die from either sickness, injury, or other natural causes. And yet, some people claim to have seen spirits die.'"

"We _have_ seen one die, that's a fact," Jack said gloomily.

"Grandpa, I'm just reading what the book said."

Jack frowned. He still wasn't used to being a grandfather when he felt the same age as he did hundreds of years ago.

"Read on, dear," Rapunzel said.

"There are three known theories. The first, and most widely accepted, is that they become fairies, ghosts, will o' the wisps, etc.. Basically, the do not die, but progress to another magical stage of life."

"Merida always loved will 'o the wisps," Hiccup said. "Sorry, I'm interrupting, too."

"The second is that the moment before death, they are magically transported somewhere. Supposedly there is a top secret, hidden spa or palace where they can recover to fight their enemies later. Their memories are wiped so nobody can destroy the place. Bad spirits are stripped of their powers and imprisoned there.

"The third theory, is that spirits cleverly devised and faked their own deaths for their own selfish purposes."

"Yeah, but all 27 spirits?" Jack asked. "Seems a little far fetched. Especially when you consider Ariel's death, that was a surprise attack."

"Who's Ariel?" Mavis asked.

"She's a water spirit, the only spirit other than Sandy and Bunny who was seen to die," Elsa said. "Coincidentally I know her personally. She's not the sort of person to fake her own death for selfish reasons."

"Well," Rapunzel said. "This book wasn't written by someone who knew that spirits existed. These are just myths, legends, and dreams."

Fascinated, Lilith continued to flip through the pages. Jack turned right side up and floated down to the table.

"I don't like the third theory, and the first one seems fishy. The people who created that myth didn't know about spirits returning from the "dead." But the second idea could actually be right. Nothing was left but Merida's sword, and that fell off before she landed, I could see that from the tree. And it sounds like the kind of magic the Man in the Moon would do."

"Rainbow Valley," Lilith said suddenly.

"What about it?" Rapunzel asked.

"That's where people think it's located. Or somewhere around there. More people have claimed to see ghosts, fairies, or spirits than anywhere else. And the water is said to be magic, it gives people strength."

"Rainbow Valley," Hiccup said. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"I guess it's been awhile since you were there," Jack said. "Our first adventure, remember? We stopped there for a rest before we entered Corona that evening."**

"Which means it's nearby," Rapunzel said.

* * *

 ***See Companions Divided chapter 8, and Companion Files chapter 6-7 (when I publish it) for more details.**

 ****See the very beginning of Companions United chapter 5. If you haven't read it in awhile, I just updated it to put in some more details. I briefly touch on them in the next chapter, but I filled out CU chapter 5 a bit if you were interested.**


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa had misgivings about the whole situation. If the second theory was correct, then why hadn't Merida returned? The other spirits had returned with days, a week at most. There had to be foul work at play, and if Merida couldn't fight her way out of it, then it was bad. Either that, or Merida really was dead. So in the morning, she had quietly drawn Rapunzel aside and explained she would be staying behind.

"For Lilith's sake, mother. I hope you understand."

"Of course. You're the only family she's got left."

"I still can't help feeling guilty about it," she said.

"Don't be. Mavis can't come either, she was called away to stop a war between vampires and werewolves in Washington."

Elsa was taken aback. "Okay…Good luck. Be careful."

Rapunzel pulled her daughter into a hug. "We will. Remember, it might be nothing at all."

"I almost hope it is."

* * *

As soon as he saw Rainbow Valley, Hiccup remembered it. Seven different waterfalls, some cascading gently over rocks, some bouncing and jumping energetically, some dropped straight down in a narrow stream, and others spread ten feet or more, dripping almost lazily off the overhang. A turquoise, clear lake with colorful coral and fish dancing in the light, which, when it hit the waterfalls just right, created a surplus of rainbows.

"You know, this is where Merida and I first connected," Rapunzel said wistfully. "This is where our friendship _really_ began."

"In all these years, we've never returned," Hiccup said. "And now our strongest lead to Merida's whereabouts lead here."

"It's not even that strong of a lead," Rapunzel grumbled.

Anna suddenly drew in her breath. "It wasn't back in Corona," she said, bending down and skimming her fingers across the water. "But it is now. This water is brimming with magic…but only after it enters the lake. The water coming down in the waterfalls is plain water."

Breathing heavily, she paused, eyes wide in alarm.

"Are you alright?" Rapunzel asked.

"The trail behind the water," she said, pointing with a shaky hand. "Black magic. It's not visible, but I can _feel_ it. I haven't sensed this kind of dark magic since Gothel."

The others immediately went into high alert. Carefully, they walked along the path; they no longer noticed the beauty of their serene surroundings. Anna grew more tense the further they went, and finally she stopped, pointing at a large boulder.

"There," she said. "I can see it…it looks like Nightmare sand!"

"Anna, I think it would be best for you not to go inside," Jack said, almost patronizing. "Wait outside the Valley and stand guard. Go get help if we don't return in three hours."

Without a word, Anna turned and fled the way they had come. Gothel had managed to place one of Pitch's fearling mares inside Anna's mind, even after Pitch was long dead. The fearling had given Anna a severe depression, and caused her powers to become uncontrollable. It had only been a few years since she had been able to beat the magic inside her, and she still struggled with the side effects often, so her fear came as no surprise to the others. Without Merida or Elsa to help, Anna could have suffered another panic attack.

 _Toothless, can you move this stone?_

At first Toothless was eager, but as soon as a crack had appeared he tensed.

 _Bad, bad place. Not good. Don't go in there!_

 _Is Merida down there?_

 _I don't know._

 _Then keep opening it._

With another great push, Toothless rolled the stone all the way from the opening. Immediately, he growled at the dark passageway. The Companions shivered as a dank breeze and foul smell blasted them.

 _Toothless really don't like this,_ the dragon said.

 _Is Merida down there?_ Hiccup repeated.

Toothless sniffed and sneezed multiple times. He shook his head violently.

 _Bad, bad, bad, BAD!_

 _Toothless! What about MERIDA?_

 _…_ _yes._ Toothless said after a long pause.

"She's down there," Hiccup said, drawing his sword. "He can smell her."

Jack held his staff defensively, and Rapunzel, who had been taking archery lessons from Merida, held the silver bow and arrow at the ready. Hiccup mounted Toothless, lit his sword in flames, and lead the others into the tunnel.

* * *

After nearly an hour walking in the darkness, they saw light ahead. Not a cheery, comforting glow of a house fire, but a sour, old light that made one feel sick. Toothless tried to turn around.

 _No, Toothless! We have to move on._

 _Something bad is there, something we know but haven't seen in a long time. It's not safe!_

 _Then neither is Merida. We have to rescue her. What is down there?_

 _I don't remember. I know it, but I don't know it. I forgot._

Hiccup began to feel very nervous. One of the Companions had died, they had visited the same spot they had first visited as a group, and now were about to combat a dark magic. It was all very deja vu. And there was something that Lilith had read in the book that was nagging at him, but he couldn't figure out what.

"Keep moving," Jack whispered hoarsely.

Hiccup turned and whispered what Toothless had told him. Jack and Rapunzel looked grim.

"If we beat whoever it was once, then we can do it again," Rapunzel said.

Hiccup nodded, and they slowly slipped around the corner.

The tunnel opened up into a large cavern filled with a black, slimy lake, the complete opposite of the one above ground. The lake was dotted with tiny islands, only big enough for two people to stand on, and far enough apart that you couldn't jump from one to the other. Spanning the lake was a dirt bridge that lead to an abandoned, blackened fortress, which looked like it had been burned. Smoke still rose from some of the columns. At first, they didn't see anyone.

Then Rapunzel looked up, and suddenly understood why Anna had been so afraid.

"Hello again," she said darkly.

The others looked up and gasped. The ceiling of the high cavern resembled a spider's web. Black nets made with thick rope hung over the lake, each one corresponding to an island, and with an unconscious spirit inside of them. Merida was in the one closest to them, her body seemed to lie lifeless, one arm dangled through one of the holes of her net. The nets were connected in a web of black ropes, and in the center was the biggest net of them all; more like a sturdy cage, actually. When they saw this cage, they understood that the nets were not made of black ropes, nor was the cage.

They were made from Nightmare sand, and in the middle cage, looking triumphant and evil, was Pitch Black. And unlike the other prisoners, he was awake.

"Hello, daughter," Pitch said.

"I am not your daughter."

"Oh, I've waited nearly forty years for this moment," Pitch said gleefully, rubbing his hands. "Forty years for my happily ever after."

"Your happily ever after comes at the price of our happily after ever, and those of all the other people in this world," Jack said. "So you can't have it."

"What have you done with Merida?" Hiccup shouted.

"Oh, Hiccup. How you and Merida have grown!" Pitch crooned. "She's not dead, only dreaming. Everyone here is dreaming. Well, actually their multitasking. They're dreaming the most lovely nightmares, and giving me energy and my life back."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, stalling for time. "How did you do all this?"

"Well, I might as well tell you the whole story," Pitch said almost eagerly.

Rapunzel had to wonder how long it had been since he had talked to anyone. Even though it had been years since she had lived with him, she could still remember how much he loved to boast and brag about his cunning plans. He loved attention.

"This was once the fabled city of Atlantis."

"No way," Jack said.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Pitch roared. "It was the city of Atlantis, a magical city full of fairies, and mermaids and other "good" magical creatures. It was not drowned under water as everyone believes. It was always underground, set here by Mother Nature as a resting place for weary, tired spirits. The Man in the Moon would take any spirits supposedly about to "die" and bring them here, where they could recover in peace. Nobody remembered it, because their memory was always wiped once they entered the tunnel."

"What happened to it?" Hiccup asked.

"Me," Pitch said, grinning. "When you four "killed" me, I was taken here, and restored by magic. But because I was an "evil spirit," my magic was taken from me, and I was locked away in Atlantis' dungeon. Fortunately, that was no match for me, and I broke out. I had almost made my escape when Mother Nature captured me and my current prison. Nightmare sand is the only magic strong enough to hold me. Unfortunately for them, it also gives me my magic back."

"At the cost of theirs," Rapunzel said dryly.

"Not the sand on it's own," Pitch corrected. "But it gave me enough power to attack anyone who came near, and I was able to entrap them in their nets. Once I had my first spirit, that gave me real power. I lay siege to the same city that held me prisoner, captured everyone inside, lay waste to Atlantis, and hid everything from the Man in the Moon."

"So…why haven't you left?" Jack said.

"I have the magic, yes," Pitch said. "I could have left ages ago. But then I discovered that my fellow spirits weren't just giving me magic back, they were giving me _their_ magic. So I decided to stay until I possessed all they had to give me. Until I make them into what they made me."

"What did they make you?" Rapunzel asked.

"Mortal," Pitch said coldly. "They reversed me back into my non-spirit form and age. I would have died within hours, so I acted quickly. I was extremely fortunate, I thought. I just didn't realize how fortunate I was until Merida came here. Not just a spirit, or a Guardian, but a _Companion_. It seemed too good to be true!"

"It is," Hiccup said grimly.

"What happens if I decide to shoot her cage down?" Rapunzel said.

Pitch laughed. "She'll wake up of course, and no worse for wear, except for her magic which I have stolen. But she can survive and you can go on living your happy ever after lives. Go on. I don't care."

"No, wait!" Hiccup said, forcing Rapunzel's arm down. "He does care. He's lying…why wait forty years? Forty years of just waiting and stealing strength…doesn't that seem odd?"

"Not odd, he's mad!" Jack said.

"He can't break out of that cage," Hiccup said confidently. "You're bluffing!" Pitch growled in anger. "You need it to break from the outside, something which you can't do. Look, Rapunzel, the nets are all connected. It we break one, then I bet we'll break the others."

"But he'll be outnumbered," Jack said. "All of those spirits will also be free."

"No," Rapunzel said. "But he's been draining of them of power and killing them."

"He can't do that," Jack said. "That's another clever lie. The sand keeps you from doing any big, dark magic. He's not as strong as he says, look at him!"

Pitch was growing angrier my the minute. Rapunzel was still reluctant. There was something missing to this puzzle, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Are you going to sit around all day and do nothing!" Pitch taunted crossly.

Rapunzel aimed the bow at Merida's cage. Hiccup looked like he was about to intervene. "What choice do we have?" she asked quietly.

Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow. While she wasn't as good of an archer as Merida, it was magic, and it hit exactly where she wanted it to. Toothless jumped into the air and flew forward to catch her as she fell. Around her, all the spirits fell silently, seemingly in slow motion, towards their islands. As soon as they landed, their eyes opened. But before they had a chance to do anything, Pitch had landed. The second his feet touched the ground, the entire cavern went pitch black.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And the plot thickens. Even though this is a short story, I'm really enjoying bringing it full circle and tying up some loose ends. Also, I'm planning another Companions "book" which ties up some other things as well called Companion Files.**


	3. Chapter 3

Rapunzel found herself alone in the dark. She tried to cry out for Jack and Hiccup, but her voice would not work. It was almost as if she were underwater, drowning in fear. Struggling, she moved around, realized she was on one of the little islands.

 _What is Pitch doing? What is his game?_

Suddenly there was a harsh whinny of a Nightmare, and the scene around her shifted. Rapunzel was back in her tower as a young girl, Gothel standing over her cruelly.

"Mother, please!" she pleaded. "Don't leave me!"

Gothel spun around and left the room, locking the door behind her with a fatal click. Rapunzel ran up to the door and beat on it with her fists, panic rising when the door disappeared.

"No, no!"

She ran to the window and looked out. The sky was covered with thick, sickly green clouds that rumbled with ominous thunder. There was no sun. Instead of a pretty meadow at the base of the tower, there were sharp, jagged rocks, and wild animals prowled around, looking up at her hungrily.

"The world is a dangerous place, Rapunzel," came Gothel's sinister voice.

It seemed to come from the very air, booming as loud as the thunder. There was a flash of lightening very near to the window, and Rapunzel fell back in terror. Rain began to pour from the sky in torrents; a stinging wind pushed it through the window. It hurt.

Crying, she stood and tried to push the shutters closed. They would not move. In desperation, she turned and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. This time, there were no paints, or books, or a small green chameleon to keep her company. It was a dull, grey room with nothing but a hard bed with some dusty blankets.

Rapunzel forgot that this was not real. She didn't realize that it was only a Nightmare. The fear was so great, that it became a new reality.

She crawled under the covers as she had done when she was a little girl, covering her ears and crying.

"Jack…I'm scared!" she whimpered.

* * *

Merida wasn't sure what was going on. One moment, she had been falling to certain death, and the next, she was back in DunBroch with her mother and brothers.

"Mum!" she cried.

It had been centuries since she'd seen her last, and she didn't care if it made no sense. Maybe she had died and gone to Valhallah.

"You're hair is a mess!" Elinor screeched, grabbing Merida's hair roughly and tugging it with her fingers. "I told you to brush it and get rid of those dreadful curls."

"What?"

"You were out riding again, weren't you? When will you learn to be a respectable princess and not go galavanting off into the woods on adventures? That's for knights to do, like your brothers. Och! Stop gaping! Close your mouth." She rapped Merida sharply on the chin. "And stand up straight for once! Can't you do anything right?"

"But…Where's dad?"

"Where do you think the stupid oaf is? He's off on another dreadful war with the clans, that's where!"

"Where? I'm going to help!"

"Did you hit your head _again_?" she asked, again pulling at the hair trying to look at her head. "No, I told you you can't! Fighting is not a duty fit for a princess. A princess stays at home and gives her people hope while being the epitome of grace and charm. Which you are hopeless at! Now, get back inside!"

This was not Valhallah.

Glumly, Merida slouched and obeyed. What else could she do? Had some other horrible spell happened to her mother? Then a loud roar behind her confirmed her fears.

"Mum?" she asked, nervously turning around.

Instead of Elinor stood a huge black bear, taller than Mor'du, but it still looked like Elinor the bear. She roared at Merida.

"YOU DISOBEDIENT, DISGRACE OF A CHILD!" the bear screamed. The voice was deep and frightening, it resonated through the air and shook the trees. "DO AS YOU ARE TOLD AND GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM!"

Merida turned and fled towards the castle. Her brothers had somehow disappeared, and she wondered if the bear had eaten them. As if evil-Elinor-bear could read her thoughts, it bellowed

"YOU'RE GOOD FOR NOTHING BUT A MEAL!"

Merida ran faster, trying to feel for her bow or her sword. She had neither.

There were no doors into the castle, just a massive stone wall. Jumping, Merida caught hold of a vine of ivy growing on the side and began to climb. When she was about halfway up, Elinor slammed against the wall and shook the foundations. In terror, Merida looked up to the ramparts, hoping against hope someone would be there.

Then she screamed. Someone was there, but it wasn't anyone who would help her. It was the witch who had helped turn her mother into a bear in the first place. Maggie, Gothel's mother. She cackled and watched with delight as Merida struggled to climb.

"Useless, useless," she crooned.

She leaned over the wall and held out a hand. But Merida knew the hand was meant to harm, not to help. She stopped climbing and looked at it. She was only a dozen feet from the top now; she could make it on her own. But then Elinor hit the wall again, and Merida very nearly lost her footing.

She couldn't go up, and she couldn't go down. Merida was stuck.

"You have to be courageous," she told herself calmly. "You have to be strong."

Her right hand felt a chill, and a touch of frost appeared on the wall beside her. This gave her a surge of hope, and she kept climbing.

* * *

Jack was on high alert. He knew something bad was going to happen, he just didn't know what. But he was not prepared when he landed at his old lake in Burgess with Jill. The ice crackled under their feet, and he knew there wasn't much time.

"Hold on, I got you," he said, reaching out with his staff to rescue her.

It was too late. The ice broke, and Jill, not Jack, fell into the ice. He ran to the hole to see if he could pull her up, but suddenly he was farther away then he thought. By the time he reached the spot where he had last seen her, the ice had frozen back over. He could still see her through the surprisingly clear ice, banging on it in desperation. Jack tried to use his powers to get her out, but they didn't work. He took his staff and hit the ice so hard the staff broke. Jill looked at him with disappointment and anger in her eyes as she sank into the black water.

"No…no! I have to save her!" he yelled, looking up for the Moon.

There was no moon. Numbly, he looked back at the ice, and screamed.

"Elsa! Get out of there!"

Elsa floated beneath the ice now, and she was panicking.

"No, don't panic! Don't panic!" he yelled, panicked.

But Elsa couldn't hold it together. Ice flew from her hands and trapped her in a case of ice, unable to move, and unable to breathe. Jack watched in horror as her skin slowly turned blue.

"Somebody help!" he screamed, jumping to his feet and looking around the park.

His mother came running out of the house. He knew it was his mother, though he couldn't see her face.

"Jack? What happened? Where's your sister?"

"It's not Jill, it's my daughter," Jack explained, turning back to the ice.

The figure had changed again. Now it was Anna. Her hands were glowing with fire, but it was being extinguished the moment it left her hands. She was screaming, bubbles leaving her mouth at an astonishing rate.

"Anna, no! Not again!"

But Anna, too, sank into the depths.

"You have to be courageous," Jack's mother said in a Scottish accent.

"What?" Jack turned.

It was no longer his mother, but Merida. Her face was blank, emotionless, but the voice was full of strength.

"You have to be strong."

Then the ice cracked under her and she sank. Jack reached out a hand to catch her. Their hands touched for a single instant, then the ice froze over and his hand was lying on top the ice. Then Merida changed into Hiccup.

"This can't be happening," Jack said in disbelief. "No, it's impossible. This CAN'T HAPPEN!" He stood and looked around. "This is a Nightmare," he declared. "We were battling Pitch, and he attacked us. You hear that Pitch? I see through your schemes! This is a Nightmare and I'm going to beat it!"

"Jack…I'm scared!" Rapunzel whimpered.

Turning, he saw her sitting on the ice at his feet, eyes staring into nothing. Her hands moved along something invisible next to her head. He knelt beside her but somehow could not look into her eyes. Some force was keeping them apart.

"Rapunzel!"

"Jack!" she sat up straight. "Where are you?"

"I'm here, can you see me?"

"No, it's just my room, it's raining…help me!"

Just then, the ice beneath her cracked, and she slipped into the water.

"It's going to be alright!" Jack called as he tried in vain to catch her.

"You're fading!" she screamed, panicking again.

"No!" he yelled as the ice began to freeze. "It's a Nightmare!" He began to claw at the ice in desperation. "It's a Nightmare, it's only a Nightmare, it's a Nightmare, please tell me it's a nightmare!"

* * *

In her own alternate world, Rapunzel tried to grasp the last words she heard, but she couldn't hear them. Suddenly, she shivered and her arms felt cold.

"Jack! Don't go!"

She started to wonder if she had imagined it, or been dreaming. Her brain felt foggy, and she couldn't think straight.

"I need you, Jack," she whispered.

* * *

Hiccup felt as though he were fourteen again, with his father glaring down at him angrily.

"Where's the barmaid?" he bellowed.

Valka walked in the door and looked at him, annoyed. "You know I don't like that nickname."

"Excuse me, barmaid! I call you whatever I want when you bring me the wrong order!"

"What's wrong?"

"I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side! This here, this is a talking fish-bone! He's not just any hiccup, he's Hiccup the Useless!"

"Dad…"

"Oh no, don't talk to me you dragon lover! You are a disgrace to the Hooligan Tribe. I would have had you banished long ago if you weren't my only heir. But now, I've changed my mind. Get off this island, right now! You are an Outcast from here on, if they will take your worthless body."

"Who will be the next chief?" Valka asked scornfully.

"Snotlout, obviously. He's much better at everything than Hiccup is."

"Except training dragons," Hiccup yelled.

"You useless boy! We kill dragons, we do not train them as pets! You're not a viking. You're not my son."

Hiccup screamed and collapsed to the ground. "That's not true! You don't believe that!"

Suddenly the scene changed. He was on a tiny dirt island surrounded by inky water and infinite blackness. He didn't know where Toothless was.

"You have to be courageous, you have to be strong," came Merida's voice from nearby.

"It's a Nightmare, it's only a Nightmare," Jack muttered.

Reality clicked back in as Hiccup realized what was going on. Nightmares, Pitch Black.

"You can't defeat me with that!" Hiccup yelled into the darkness at Pitch. "Not anymore."

He concentrated on bringing back good memories. How Stoick had greeted him when he woke up from the Red Death's attack. How together they had flown through the skies after they had trained Thornado, Stoick's first dragon, together. How proud Stoick had been when he, Astrid, and Fishlegs had stopped the Flightmare from coming into Berk. How even though it was dangerous, Stoick had allowed the Dragon Flight Club to continue.

The fear was beginning to slip away, but it wasn't quite enough. Hiccup took a deep breath. He knew which memory he had to bring up to break Pitch's spell, and he _really_ didn't want to. It was so painful.

 _Hiccup?_ Toothless asked faintly. _Where are you? What's going on? I can't find anyone._

Hiccup closed his eyes and brought back the scene. He began to narrate it out loud.

"It was the best day of my life. The day I found my mother. But it was the worst day of my life, too, because it was the day I lost my father. Drago had taken control of Toothless, and had ordered him to kill me. I was scared, I didn't know what had gotten into him, and I could escape. Right before Toothless fired, my dad barreled me out of the way and took the blast himself."

Hiccup opened his eyes and found that the scene had changed again to that horrible day. He watched it happen from afar, in slow motion. Tears streamed down his face as his heart convulsed with the painful memory.

"HE LOVED ME!" he screamed.

* * *

Merida and Rapunzel heard the same thing at the same time.

"It's a Nightmare, it's only a Nightmare," Jack said.

"HE LOVED ME!" Hiccup screamed from somewhere else.

Merida looked down at Elinor, fuming at the base of the castle, and understood.

"You are a Nightmare!" she yelled. "My mum did love me, and I love her!"

Determinedly, she placed her feet on the wall and jumped down towards the bear.

Rapunzel leapt out of bed. "It's not true, it's a Nightmare! Gothel is dead, the tower is destroyed. The world is dangerous, but it is also good and beautiful. There is a sun and my Anna can control it. I am not trapped in this tower, I have a life, and a family, and they love me!"

* * *

Jack felt the Nightmare bonds of the dream world loosen when he heard Hiccup's scream.

"HE LOVED ME!"

"He's alive," he breathed. "Hiccup is alive, Merida is alive, Rapunzel is alive, and Elsa and Anna are safe! My sister became a spirit and the Guardian of Love. I am Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, and you are a Nightmare."

But the dream had one last thing to throw at him, to test him. Lilith appeared on the edge of the pond, and started to run towards him excitedly.

"Stop!" he said when the ice began to crack around her feet. "Lilith cannot die because you are not my Lilith. My Lilith is safe in Corona, you cannot harm her because you are a Nightmare, and YOU CAN DIE."

All of the alternate worlds crashed with a sound like breaking glass.


	4. Chapter 4

Torches flared up around the cave, casting out the dark magic that Pitch had created. For a moment, all the spirits looked at each other in confusion and disbelief. All of them looked shaken, Pitch most of all.

He stood on a dirt hill island in the center of them all, sweating and visibly shaking. He was glaring at them viciously, looking like a cat about to pounce.

Immediately, the spirits focused all their attentions and powers on him.

"Oh, come on, Pitch," Hiccup said. "When are you going to learn? Give up already."

"No, I will never give up! I will defeat you one day!"

Rapunzel threw her hair and bound him tightly inside. For an extra measure, to make sure he didn't break out of that, Jack iced over the temporary cage with his ice.

"Actually, Ah don't think yew will," Merida said dryly. "Is that mah bow?"

"Yes," Rapunzel said, handing it to her. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Well done!" a warm, silky voice said behind them.

Mother Nature glided up to them serenely. As she skimmed across the water, it turned from inky black to crystal blue, like the water in Rainbow Valley. She waved her hand, and the palace in the distance was restored to it's former glory.

"Is this really Atlantis?" Merida asked.

"Of course it is. All myths and legends have some truth to it. But sometimes, the truth is so diluted that we have difficulty distinguishing it when it arrives face to face." She stopped and gazed down at Pitch, who was fuming behind his gag. "Thank you, Pitch Black, for teaching me a valuable lesson about Nightmare sand. That will not hold you forever. I won't make that mistake again."

"Is there anything that will keep him down here?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

"Yes, there is. I had only just learned of it, and was on my way to see Sandy when he captured me and held me prisoner. Rather unfortunate timing."

"Sandy?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course!" Jack said. "The only thing that can hold him down is…"

"Dream-sand," Rapunzel gasped, looking at the doorway.

At that moment, Sandy floated in. Mother Nature raised her eyebrows, surprised.

"Now that _is_ fortunate timing," she said. "Sandy, dear, how have you been?"

Sandy bowed respectfully from his cloud as he descended. He walked right up to Pitch, and punched him with a dream sand fist. Pitch immediately fell asleep. Then, sand symbols began appearing over his head in rapid succession.

"What did 'e say?" Merida asked. She never had gotten the hang of understanding the sandman.

"He's explaining to me that after you Companions came and asked him about after death, he began thinking, and he remembered some funny dreams going on lately, all leading here and alluding to me. So he decided to investigate." She stopped, reading Sandy's signs again. "Put him back in his old cell block, number 23. Make him one of your strongest cages, please."

Rapunzel and Jack released Pitch to Sandy's care as Mother Nature began to lead the weakened spirits back to Atlantis.

"You are welcome to stay and rest," she said.

"I think we'll go back to Corona and rejoin the rest of our family, if it's all the same to you," Rapunzel said.

"I understand. But know that you are welcome any time."

Jack floated up next to Rapunzel and hugged her tightly. Merida did the same with Hiccup and Toothless. The Companions lay on the fresh grass that had magically sprung up on the island for awhile, drained of emotions. After several minutes had past, Sandy returned for them, and gestured for them to get on his sand cloud.

"Will we lose our memories when we go through?" Hiccup asked.

"No," Mother Nature said, reappearing beside them. "Not you four. You are special, connected in a way that defies black magic. We need you to know about this in case we need you again. But you must never tell anyone else."

"Our children will have questions," Rapunzel said.

"Guardians of Love and Joy, Mavis, and your granddaughter may know the secret," she said. "But there is where the secret must stop."

"We promise," Hiccup said.

They climbed onto the sand cloud and Sandy led them up through the dark tunnels. Anna, Elsa, and Lilith were waiting next to the boulder, pacing anxiously.

"You're alright!" Anna said, hugging her mother.

"We're fine, we did it," she said.

"How did you get here?" Jack asked, hugging Elsa and Lilith.

"I could sense something happened to Anna," Elsa said. "So we came in case of trouble. What was down there?"

"Pitch Black," Merida said. "But it's alright, we beat him. For good this time."

"I knew you did," Anna said. "The magic broke. I've never seen anything like it!"

Sandy shook his head and shrugged, which they took to mean "Neither have I."

"I don't think we'll see anything like it again," Hiccup said with a sigh of relief.

"I hope not," Rapunzel said, shuddering.

"We should get back to Arendelle," Elsa said, changing the subject away from the darkness.

"Oh, not yet!" Anna pleaded. "Stay with me and Kristoff for dinner, first. Then you can go home in the morning, after you get some rest. You look exhausted."

"Ah say we dew what Anna suggests," Merida said, climbing behind Hiccup.

Sandy nodded furiously. Nobody really protested, they simply followed Elsa back to the gates, where Kristoff and Olaf were waiting for them.

"Yay! You found Frizzle," Olaf said, jumping up and down and using Merida's old nickname. "We made a feast in to celebrate in case you did, I knew you would. Oh, it's so good to have you all back!"

Jack couldn't agree more.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, it turned out that five chapters was stretching it a bit, so I turned it into four. Also, sorry if this last one seemed a bit anti-climatic. But really, hundred of spirits against Pitch? He didn't have a chance. And yeah, I know Atlantis is kind of cheesy. Give me a break, I'm horrible and thinking up new names. Anyway, hope you've enjoyed!**


End file.
